Lance Alone

Part 20 (Lance)

Lance perused the taco menu, trying to decide what to order.
"Do you think Allura and Coran will want tacos, too?" He asked Keith.
Keith leaned against the wall, reading the menu. "Probably. You should pick one up for Matt, too."
"I'll just get the party platter. That way everyone can have a little of everything," Lance ordered and payed the cashier, who disappeared into the back.
"Honestly, when you came back to Earth, I thought you'd make a beeline for the Garrison so you could brag about flying a giant blue lion. Not buy tacos," Keith said, leaning against the side of the building. Lance looked down at his feet; he didn't want to admit to Keith that was exactly what he did. Early in the morning, he flew Dale and Annie back to the Garrison, and told them to swear they never met him. It would be easier when Iverson questioned them, after realizing he had gone missing. Annie was disappointed, but she kept his signature and gave him a big hug. To Lance's surprise, Dale gave him a big hug too.
"I guess you don't know me like you thought you did," Lance tried to smile, grabbing some napkins for the road, "Do you think we should get some other foods? I'm thinking some summer watermelon, and pizza rolls, and--"
"Do you hear that?" Keith straightened up. A shadow crossed over the sun, and both of them looked up to see it.
"It's a bird. No, it's a plane." It came out from in front of the sun and they both saw it clearly. Lance's squinted.
"It's a--Galra ship?" it was a small cruiser, for sure, but still unheard of on Earth. "The tacos can wait. We need to get to the lions!"

He and Keith sprinted over the hill, where the lions sat in wait. The particle barriers dissolved as they came close. For Lance, it was good to be home back in Blue--the world looked so much smaller from within the pilot's seat. The Galra ship settled to the ground and the side door opened--but Lance paused, because he knew who was coming out of that pod.

"Is that Matt? And Pidge?" He relaxed. The two fluffy-haired Holts walked out of the pod, arguing.

"You'll look ridiculous with square frames. If you're going to get a new pair, get a more modern look!" That was definitely Pidge.

"Don't think you can just use this as an excuse to dodge the real issue. I'm worried about you, going out and fighting the Galra--" Matt argued. He and the rebels must have stolen the ship from Galra command.

"And you think I'm not worried about you doing the same thing? I've been flying a giant alien death ship for a while now. It's you I'm concerned about. And honestly, who wears square frames..."

Lance and Keith relaxed in their seats, climbing out of their lions to greet the Holt siblings.

"Hey guys!" Pidge lit up with excitement when she saw Lance and Keith. She gave Lance a big hug, which he didn't hestitate to return. Matt looked a little ashamed to have given Lance such a tough time before. "Lance, I can't believe it! Keith actually found you!"

"You doubted me?" Keith rasied an eyebrow.

"We had to come anyway, to get Matt some new specs. And we thought, hey, trust but verify, right?" She shrugged. "Ooh, tacos."

"Wait, if we're all here... what's Hunk doing?" Lance thought.

Back at the castle, Hunk and Coran stood in the kitchen. Coran twisted his mustache proudly as Hunk examined the meal Coran prepared.

"It's an ancient paladin delicacy," he said, but Hunk took a bite out of it with a fork, and shuddered.

"No. It's crap." Hunk slammed the fork into the meal. "What self-respecting paladin would eat this?"

"You are destroying centuries of traditional cooking and honor--"

"You need to learn the basics before you make anything worth Alfor's name!" Hunk insisted, "I'm talking flavor pairings, basic knife skills, the balance of sweet and savory!" he tossed the food into the trashcan. "We're never going to defeat Zarkon with this lack of attention to detail. Defenders of the peace cannot defend on an empty stomach. Begin again!"

"Yes, chef," Coran quickly hurried back to the kitchen and started to bring another pot to boil.

After thinking about it for a minutes, Lance shrugged. "He's probably fine."